Protected firing mechanism for internal-combustion engines



A. PETER.

v PROTECTED FIRING MECHANISM FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1, I920.

1,388,969. Pat nteqAug.30,1921.

52 t?" {L V 46- I I. 5 Z? 35 2? 6 I 62 5 f" V/,/ 3 54 JO T 62 NXzg Z6 M 3 fl a 30 .l X y 46 28 II v 3 1 22 30 ing out the foregoing objects which can be UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED PETER, OF IBELOIT, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNO'R TO FAIRBANKS, MORSE &; (30;, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

PROTECTED FIRING- MEGEANISM FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED PETER, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Beloit,

Patent No. 1,324,9 7 8 of December 16, 1919.

The object of the invention is to so mount thisinitially used, externally heat supplied, firing mechanism, usually an electrical device, with reference to the usual combustion chamber of an en ine of this type, that this firing device may ie located in any initially predetermined desired point in the combustion chamber durin vthe time it is actually doing the firing of t e engine and may then be retracted to a less heated point, preferably into a special storage chamber, provided for the purpose, where it is protected from the heat of the engine during the continued normal operation of the engine, the

primary idea of this being to prevent the initial heating from being 'burned up or otherwise injured by the intense and continous heat developed during the long continued normal operation of the en e and also to prevent its being cloggedwit carbon or the like which is apt to be deposited upon the initial firing mechanism when it is left idle too long. in. the main combustion chamber.

The invention consists in means for carryeasily and cheaply made, which is satisfactory in operation and not readily liable to get out of order. More particularly the invention consists in features and details of construction more fully set forth. in the specification and claims.

Figure 1- is a side elevation largely in central section of the combustion chamber of a commercial oil engine of the type re- Specification of Letters Patent.

ENGINES.

Patented Aug. 30, 1921.

Application filed June 1, 1920. Serial No. 385,594.

ferred to having the device of this invention in its preferred form applied thereto.

Fig.2 is an end view on the line 2-2, Fig. 1. i s

Fig. 3 is a sectional end view on the line 3-3, Fig. 1. I

The drawings show a conventional form of combustion chamber 10 mounted on the end of the engine cylinder 12, the combustion chamber communicating with the interior of the cylinder through the usual narrow passage .16, all this without novelty therefore not more fully described in detail.

' At the starting of the engine, oil is delivered through a nozzle 18 in a spray 20 which crosses the combustion chamber and strikes the externally 1opera'ted heating device wh1ch inthe particular case here illus- 'trated is a heating coil 22 of resistance wire heated by an external electric current delivered to it by any suitable means. The current makes this 'coil red hot so that when oil spray 20 strikes it the oil is fired and the engine operated. After the engine has been running a suflicient length of time the,

practice is to cut' the electric current off from the coil 22, whereupon the spray of oil 20 is fired by the heat of the walls of the chamber 10 generally, or otherwise not entering into. this invention and therefore not desoribedfl The problem tobe solved is to mount the coil 22 so that it is readily accessible to the oil spray 20 when the engine is starting and the spray is to be fired by I the heat of the coil and to protect it from;

this or otherfoil sprays when the engine has been finally started. In order to accomplish this result the particular embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing is without limiting the scope of the invention, provided. L At the proper point in the wall ofthe combustion chamber 10 ;is inserted a removable, case member 24.- detachably secured in place by screws 26. On one side ofthis case 24' is a cylindrical chamber or store room 28 within which the coil 22 is reciprocatable between dotted and full line posihandle 34 on shaft 32 he can easily move the door from position of Fig. 2 in which the interior of chamber 28 is exposed to the oil spray 20, to the position of Fig. 3 in which no oil can enter that chamber, and vice versa. The parts are held in reasonably tight position by spring 36 provided for the purpose and carried on shaft 32.

Screw threaded at 38 into the main case 24, heretofore described, is a tubular supplemental case member 40 through which is an opening 42 in alinement with the central axis of chamber 28. Slidably mounted within this opening 42 isa shaft made up of three parts; an external metallic tube 44, a central rod 46, and an intermediate insulating sleeve 48. Coil 22 has one of its ends electrically connected to the member 44 which is always grounded on the rest of the device in the obvious manner, while the other end of the coil 22 is electrically connected tothe central rod 46 through which it receives electric current from a suitable source of electric energy as for instance a battery 50 having one of its terminals connected to the rod' 46 by any suitable means as for instance nuts 54 bearing on intermediate'connecting member 52.

This shaft 4448-46 is rigidly but detachably secured to the end of a hollow nut member 56 by means of suitable screw threads and lock nuts 50, insulated from the adjacent nut 54 by an insulating washer 60. This hollow nut 56 is provided with internal screw threads 62 engaging corresponding external threads on the upper end of supplemental case member 40. The internal screw threads 62 are of such a length on each side of the nut 56 that the nut 56 and rigidily attached shaft 464844 may be given a sufiicient number of rotations in the required direction to move the coil 22 from full line position to dotted line position or vice versa as the case may be.

The result of the construction shown is that when the operator closes the suitable switch 64 in the circuit of battery 50 current travels from said battery through connection 52 to rod 46, thence through the coil 22, thence back through the member 44 to the grounded engine and thence to the battery which, as shown, is grounded. This current a can flow in all intermediate positions of the coil 22 between its two positions shown.

On starting the engine the operator rotates hollow nut 56.and consequently the coil 22to their extreme lower, or dotted line position, shown in the drawing, and

. takes hold of handle 34 and swings it to the position of Fig. 2 thus exposing coil 22 to the jet of oil 20 which the operator now causes to flow from nozzle 18. The current from battery 50 being turned'on, heats the coil 22 and fires the fuel oil in the manner described. After the engine has become hot enough to operate without the assistance of coil 22 the operator first opens switch 64,

thus cutting off the current from coil 22. He then takes hold of hollow nut 56 and rotates it so' that the coil 22 is moved from the dotted line to the full line position. He.

of handle 34 and closes the door 30, and the coil remains in the closed chamber 28 until the engine has stopped and cooled down and it is necessary to again start it. Stated in another way, it is very important that after the engine has been started the coil be moved into the full line position, and thereby out of the fuel spray. Any liquid fuel, however, which is clinging to the coil on account of having been in contact with the fuel when in the dotted line position, must be given a chance to vaporize and mix with the air in the combustion chamber, before door 30 is closed. This as a rule does not take more than a few minutes.

Owing to the fact that the door 30 is independently operated apart from the movement of coil 22 the operator can use his own judgment as to when to close the door. This is an advantage not present in prior structures. In the particular case here illustrated the operating mechanismis so proportioned that the coil cannot be moved beyond the lower end-of chamber 28, thus reducing the chance of its burning upand insuring its never accidentally obstructing the movement of door 30.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an engine of the class described having a combustion chamber and a fuel inlet nozzle directed to a predetermined point therein, an oil firing mechanism in a recess in the wall of the combustion chamber, ad-

mechanism within its recess, toward and from the fuel nozzle, and means independently operatable from outside the combustion chamber, closing access to said recess from the combustion chamber.

2. In an engine of the class described having a combustion chamber and a fuel inlet nozzle directed to a predetermined p'oint thereln, an oil firing mechanism adjacent to said predetermined point in the chamber,.

means for moving said firing mechanism withm its recess toward and from the fuel .nozzle, and a door independently operatable from outside the combustion chamber closmg access to sa1d recess from the combustion chamber.

3. In an enginecof the class describedh aving a combustion chamber and a' fuel inlet no zzle directed to a predetermined point chamber closing access to said recessfrom I the combustion chamber. v

4. In an engine of the class described having a combustion chamber and a fuel inlet nozzle directed to a predetermined point therein, an oil firing mechanism in a recess in the wall of the combustion chamber, adjacent to said predetermined point in the chamber, and a pivoted door operatable from outsidethe combustion chamber closing access to said recess from the. combustion chamber.

5. Mechanism of the class described, a

case adapted for detachable insertion in an opening in the wall of anlengine adjacent of the case which enters the engine wall, a

means also outside the case for selectively closing the open end of said recess, for the purposes set forth.

6. An oil engine ignition device having an electrically heated element movable in but not outside of a recess toward and from a combustion chamber with which said recess communicates, means independent of the heating element for closing the recess from the combustion chamber.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my. name in the presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED PETER.

Witnesses:

F. G-HOBART, B. H. Aurora). 

